


Itching for You

by Anonymous



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: A very bad soulmark placement, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Minseok as questionable sidekick, tattoo as soulmark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:27:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29951322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: According to folklores, some lucky few were born with soulmate identifying marks. And their marks will itch whenever their soulmate is close by.Sehun's mark is on his bum. Well... go figure.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70
Collections: monthlysekai's Flower Garden





	Itching for You

**Author's Note:**

> _Bouquet of Love in the Mist for monthlysekai's Challenge #5_  
>  #42: Harmony and love, a symbol of the bonds that bind people together.  
> 
> 
> Thank you to my beta for being amazing and lovely as always.  
> I hope you guys enjoy the fic!

“Stop acting like a dead fish,” is all Minseok says as he keeps nudging Sehun’s thigh with his toes. When Sehun still refuses to make any sort of response, he hears the older man click his tongue before he feels an unknown type of liquid come raining down his unwashed hair. With an unmanly yelp, Sehun jumps from the parquet floor onto a solitary armchair one meter away from the crime scene. How did he manage to do that? A mystery.

“Did you just pour your coke onto my hair, hyung?”

Shrugging, Minseok chugs the rest of his soda before carelessly throwing the empty bottle somewhere towards their kitchen area. “No. I gave water to a fish so it wouldn’t die. Look. It can talk now.” He smoothly avoids the flying throw pillow Sehun aimed for his face, then turns on the TV to scroll down Netflix’s ‘New & Popular’ section.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I was being a dead fish?”

“I’ve lived with you for 5 years now. I’ve got the gist.” Sehun sends him a challenging look, daring him with an annoyed huff where Minseok replies with a roll of his eyes. “It starts with a J and ends with an N.”

That does it; that’s the trigger. Sehun cries a loud sob before dramatically throwing himself towards Minseok. The older male tries to escape but bless Sehun’s long limbs. He has successfully trapped Minseok beneath him and is currently snuggling onto his chest as he fake cries his fake tears.

“Fuck you. Get off me. You’re getting coke everywhere!” Sehun knows his hair is like the tip of a paintbrush, staining both their sofa and Minseok’s shirt. But no, he does not care. He is sad. The ants can take over their whole apartment and breed for more generations to come for all he cares. “Fine, fine. O’ poor young man, do enlighten this oblivious soul with thy fucking problem?”

Satisfied, Sehun gets up to sit properly on the sofa while Minseok scoots away to the farthest end, as if the distance could stop Sehun from jumping onto him again. “You’re right, hyung. My problem does start with a J and ends with an N. It also can start with a K but still ends with an N. Or we can say it starts with a K, a J in the middle and ends with an N.”

“Oh Sehun, please, just get this over with. I want to watch a movie already.” Minseok lets out an exasperated groan.

His forehead feels sticky, probably from the coke that seeped through his hair and found its way off his scalp by sliding down onto his face. There is a huge stain on the back cushion too. He will deal with the hassle of cleaning it later. There is a more important matter to address right this moment.

“Remember when I didn’t tell you about my decision to finally attempt confessing to my crush, Jongin, because I was afraid that I would fail again for the twentieth time this year?” Minseok does not answer him but he looks very unimpressed by Sehun’s rhetorical question, so he continues. “Well. I did make an attempt, and I also did fail again.”

“Okay, first of all, twentieth time this year? It’s just March?”

“I can’t help it when I wake up every day, all I want to do is to get my love through his thick skull so he can love me back and then we can live happily ever after together.”

Minseok rolls his eyes. “Hitherto, three years passed and you can’t even last more than 5 minutes being around him before fleeing like a goose.”

“You’re right.” Sehun’s shoulders sag as he sighs dejectedly. “I’m such a disappointment. For some reason, I can’t seem to work my head or form any sort of coherent thoughts whenever he’s around.”

“This is just a wild guess, but maybe it has something to do with your massive crush on him.”

Ignoring the older male’s sarcastic comment, Sehun continues his lamenting. “I want to say something smart, you know, like a smooth pick-up line that would make his heart go on a 100-meter sprint. But it’s really hard to come up with anything when my butt keeps itching. It’s really distracting to think while I’ve to fight the urge to scratch my ass in front of him.”

“Are you sure your ass is okay? Do you have tapeworms? I feel like you’ve told me your ass gets itchy many times before too. Go get it checked.”

“And let some doctor grope my ass? Oh, no. These peaches are reserved for Kim Jongin only.”

Minseok sends him a disgusted look. “With the pace you’re going, those peaches are going to rot first before Jongin could get any closer to them. Besides, I’ve told you a hundred times. It’s so, so obvious that he has a thing for you too. Please just say something to him already and let me live in peace.”

“I don’t know what to say to him, hyung. Seriously, how does anyone confess at all? It’s so hard.”

Not to brag, but in his entire life, Sehun never had to worry about confessing. He has always been on the receiving end. All through high school and college, he was the popular boy everyone swooned after. Boys and girls lined up to profess their love for him. His expertise is rejecting confessions, not making them.

“Why don’t you start with a ‘hi’ and go from there?” Grabbing the remote again, Minseok returns to scrolling Netflix. And with that, Sehun knows that the older male is ready to end their conversation. “Or, if worse comes to worst, just tell him your ass itches. Maybe he wouldn’t mind playing doctor with you.”

It has been a busy week for the whole office. Sehun cannot believe he went through four full days without getting a glimpse of Jongin’s (hot) body. When Friday rolls by, he is deep in anguish. If he did not see Jongin today, then it would be a complete week without his vitamin J. He needs his supplement or his entire being will sag like a soggy biscuit. Sehun is in the middle of stabbing his pen into a lump of plasticine he randomly has resting on his desk when Minseok passes by to get to his own work station.

“Wow, you look horrible. What’s up with you?” Before Sehun gets to respond though Minseok quickly cuts him. “It was rhetorical. I don’t really want to know.”

Being friends with Minseok for over a decade and housing with him half of those years, Sehun knows that the older male actually cares about him. He just has a penchant for acting like a jerk and throwing sarcasms all over the place. Most important of all, he has a huge soft spot for Sehun.

“I haven’t seen Jongin the whole week, hyung. I miss seeing his handsome face.”

It feels like the universe hates him sometimes. Jongin is in Research and Development while Sehun gets stuck in Human Resources. Their departments are separated by six floors. And curse their perfect company for prioritising employees’ welfare on top of everything else. There are pantries full of snacks, mini café bar and even smoking lounge on every floor – leaving absolutely no excuse for Sehun to travel to other floors to increase his chance of bumping into his crush. All he could do is to wait for Jongin to mess up with some staff codes and get summoned up to be reprimanded.

“It’s not like you’re going to do or say anything if you see him anyways,” Minseok nonchalantly replies as he digs through a thick file of applicants for the new job position that they are currently offering for their network security team. Sehun already made a shortlist of those that satisfy their minimum requirements and Minseok is in charge of scheduling their interview sessions.

“But hyung, we’ll never know when I’d actually gather enough courage to ask him out. Maybe the next time we meet? Maybe next week? Heck, maybe even today. Plus, I really need to see his face. His hotness gives me strength to carry on with my dull, boring life.”

He hears his friend huffing annoyed groans from the desk opposite of his own. They probably should not be talking so loudly during working hours, especially when it’s about Sehun thirsting over his colleague. But it’s not like he has to fear getting reported. He is already in HR.

Before any of them could continue, the elevator to their floor dings open, and the most beautiful man ever graced the Earth walks out of the steel box heading towards their direction. Sehun can almost hear the birds start singing love songs, imaginary backup dancers popping up from nowhere performing an impromptu dance routine in perfect synch. Flower petals drop from the ceiling when they reach the chorus.

He would join them if his ass didn’t suddenly get very, very itchy. The urge to scratch is so huge but Jongin is facing his way. He’d be damn if his crush caught him doing something indecent in public. Sehun presses more against his chair and subtly tries to rub his cheek against the seat cushion. God, that helps easing it.

As expected, Jongin walks past his cubicle – only to stop at Minseok’s. He watches the two exchange pleasantries before Minseok sends him a smirk.

 _Oh, fuck. No, no, no_.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Sehun before,” says Minseok, traces of evil gleam in his eyes. “He’d like to get dicked down by you. And go on some dates too. Not necessarily in that order.” While the other two males are still flabbergasted by such a blunt exposé, Minseok rips out a page from his bizarrely colourful notepad, scribbles something on it before shoving it into Jongin’s hand. “Please take him out. ASAP, preferably, so that I can reach my zen again.”

Sehun really could not decide whether his hyung is the best wingman or the worst.

His hyung is the best, Sehun decides five days later when he wakes up to one text message from Kim Jongin. It’s just a simple message. In fact, it contains only two words: _hi_ , then signed _Jongin_. Yet, it gives Sehun an immense amount of joy. His heart starts an acrobatic routine, his fingers are trembling so hard that it takes Sehun almost five minutes to type a ‘hello.’ The journey to office that morning is filled with Sehun giggling like a giddy high school girl as he continues exchanging texts with Jongin, and poor Minseok struggling not to gag his breakfast out thanks to them.

Sehun couldn’t stop doing a countdown by the hours. He is both excited and nervous for Saturday. He wonders where Jongin would take him. Is he the type to plan everything thoroughly or does he prefer to just go with the flow? Would he hold Sehun’s hand on their first date? Or better yet, is he going to kiss Sehun right off the bat?

All these questions are doing nothing to soothe his nerves. Instead, they are only making him even more eager for their date day. Minseok is so done with him. The older man now wears his iPod 24/7 in their apartment to drain out Sehun’s incessant rambling. Sehun has to keep those overpriced wireless earphones as hostages on Saturday morning, using them as leverage to _compel_ Minseok in helping him choose the right attire for the important day.

It took them hours of squabbling before they managed to come up with a mutually agreed option. Sehun matches his dark grey long-sleeved buttoned up shirt with smoky kohl eyeliner. It also looks perfect with the quiff haircut he got yesterday. When Jongin pulls up in front of his apartment at 4PM sharp, Sehun is all ready to rock the man’s world.

Even though the course Jongin planned for them is the epitome of clichés, Sehun still thinks that it’s unquestionably the best date he ever experienced.

Together, they choose a comedy-action movie and split the cost. Jongin pays for the tickets while Sehun covers their popcorn and sodas. The hand-bumping in the popcorn container has them both blushing to the ears. Not long after that, they wordlessly agreed to pretend that Sehun only got them one cup of soda, ditching the other just so they could share it from the same straw. It’s dumb, maybe a bit gross too (the person next to them has made gagging noises countless times), but what mattered the most is that they both enjoyed it.

Post-cinema, Jongin drives them to a Japanese restaurant for spicy ramen and sushi. He is glad Jongin did not make reservations at fancy dining places. He does not think he is ready for such ambience, especially when he keeps fidgeting on his seat, subtly rubbing his itchy ass against his seat.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit restless.” Horror strikes him when Jongin finally questions his non-stop squirming. It was dark in the cinema so Sehun had no problem sneaking his free hand down to give his cheek nice secret scratches every now and then. Unfortunately, they are in a very well-lit eatery and it feels inappropriate to do it. “Do you not like the place? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

The crestfallen look on the man’s face has Sehun’s heart breaking into small pieces. “No, not at all. I’m very comfortable with you. It’s really nice. T-the date is nice. Very pleasant.” That does not sound convincing at all, even to his own ears. Sehun is panicking inside and he always has trouble forming coherent thoughts around Jongin. Those are a very bad combination.

“Are you sure about that? Because I like you so much, Sehun, for the longest time. I really don’t want to mess this up, especially when I finally have the balls to ask you out.”

The way Jongin sounds so earnest has Sehun reaching out to hold his hand without thinking. His ass itches harder at the skin contact. Sehun takes a deep breath to fight it and focuses on the beautiful, close to crying man sitting in front of him instead. “It’s really hard to explain…” No, honestly, how to tell Jongin that his ass itches non-stop especially when he is around him without sounding so gross. Or like he’s a pervert. “Words don’t come to me easy. I’m very bad at being coherent. It doesn’t help either when you make my heart run a hundred miles per hour. Please believe me when I say that I like you so much too and that this has been the best date ever in my entire life. And I’d love to go on many more in the future, with you.”

It’s not an exaggeration. The smile that forms on Jongin’s face afterwards puts the Sun to shame. It lights up Sehun’s entire world.

From then on, everything effortlessly falls into places.

They go on many more dates. They flirt. They annoy Minseok together by being so grossly in love.

In the midst of those, Sehun also has been buying tons of antifungal cream for his butt cheeks. A pharmacist once stopped him from leaving and questioned him whether he has some sort of weird addiction to the cream. The conversation didn’t go well, especially when Sehun had a hard time explaining under her scrutinizing glare. He left the pharmacy with a contact number to her recommended psychiatrist and a resolve to never return there.

The first time Jongin kissed him was during their fifth date, in front of his apartment, chaste and sweet.

On the eight date, Sehun (bribed Minseok to stay at a hotel for two days and) invited Jongin to stay for the night, they started to make out with heavy pettings on the side. With that too, began the thick sexual tension between them.

It’s not until their twelve date when they decide to crash at Jongin’s place (thank god he lives alone) for something spicier. To walk without tripping while keeping mouths pressed against each other is very challenging. They manage to reach Jongin’s bedroom unscathed.

Once they’re on the bed, Jongin breaks the kiss and both of them fall into a fit of laughter. “That was really tough. We should’ve just walked in normally.” Jongin murmurs between his giggles, his body vibrating on top of Sehun.

“We’re both horny men,” Sehun adds suggestively, throwing both arms around Jongin’s neck to pull him in for another make out session. Their desires grow rapidly with every grind, hasty hands clumsily taking off every last piece of clothing. Things are going really well until Jongin flips him around and gasps loudly. “W-why?”

“You have a tattoo on your ass?”

“I have a what?” Sehun is unable to look at it no matter how much he craned his neck. Jongin good-naturedly places a finger on top of the said _tattoo,_ which he then realises to be his bum-itchy-spot.

“It’s a blue flower. You didn’t know?”

Then it hits him. The folklore he used to hear when he was a kid. “I hope you wouldn’t think I’m crazy but I think it’s a soul-mark.”

“Soul-mark like the soulmate thing? Do you think it’s true?”

It’s really awkward to have an intellectual conversation while their ding-dongs are out. Sehun tries not to focus on that for now. “That’s the only explanation. Soul-mark would itch when your soulmate is close. I’ve never mentioned it before but my ass cheek gets super itchy whenever you’re around me.”

“That explains all the fidgeting. Wait. Does it mean that I’m your soulmate?” Jongin blushes. Sehun isn’t sure whether it’s from his claim or because his cock just twitched.

“Mmmh. My soulmate.” Sehun pulls Jongin in for a sloppy, wet kiss before continuing with a cheeky grin. “I guess you can also say, my ass has been itching for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Additional pointers:  
> \- The tattoo on Sehun's cheek is a blue Love in the Mist.  
> \- He has no idea it's there because obviously, he couldn't see his bum cheek.


End file.
